Observations and Reminscences from world of hot and cold rolled steel strip

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

ArcelorMittal reducing steel capacity in Poland

Warsaw Business Journal reported that steel giant ArcelorMittal, which controls 70% of the Polish steel production market, wants to reduce the number of its employees in the Czech Republic by around 10%. The company plans to launch a voluntary redundancy scheme there in the near future. Due to a decline in demand for steel, ArcelorMittal has already announced that it will soon idle one of its three blast furnaces in Poland. This will reportedly result in significant job losses. It is even rumored that up to 3,000 employees who work at the Polish steel furnace may be laid off soon. Trade unions at ArcelorMittal Poland fear that in the face of the crisis the steel maker may soon decide to cut more jobs in Poland. Nonetheless, Ms Sylwia Winiarek, a spokesperson for ArcelorMittal Poland, said that "No employment reduction decisions have been made at the company."